Monkey Island Resort — budget huts and a live-music bar, the liveliest spot on Koh Mak
If you're doing Koh Mak on a budget but still want atmosphere and a place to hear live music after dark, Monkey Island Resort is a name people have loved for years — around 40 wood-and-bamboo bungalows all named after monkeys (Baboon, Gorilla and more), ranging from fan rooms with a shared bathroom to private air-conditioned huts, each with a hammock on the porch · What makes it memorable is the live-music bar that plays most nights in high season, plus a kitchen run by an owner who once ran restaurants in Bangkok · A short ~6-minute walk from Ao Kao Beach · From approx. ฿700/night · rated around 8.4 from real guest reviews.
Monkey Island is a long-standing budget resort on Koh Mak, and it's very much an old-school wood-and-bamboo bungalow place rather than a modern concrete villa one · Its roughly 40 bungalows are all named after monkeys, from the cheap and simple Baboon Hut with a shared bathroom up to the Gorilla Hut, a two-bedroom family unit · Inside it's varnished wood and bamboo, with mosquito nets, a hammock on every porch, and the resort's signature rasta-monkey murals on a few of the walls.
Rooms come in several tiers · The cheapest are fan bungalows with a cold-water bathroom — a firm bed, a mosquito net and an old fan, genuinely backpacker-simple · Step up and you get fan rooms with a private bathroom, then private air-conditioned huts for anyone who can't sleep in the heat · Prices start around ฿700/night for a small fan room in the normal season, climbing in high season and over New Year, while the air-con family hut reaches about ฿3,000 · If you're counting every baht, look at the fan rooms; if you need A/C, say so clearly when booking, because the room types vary a lot.
"The bungalow was simple but clean, the garden lush and lovely, and the staff really friendly · In the evening you come down to live music at the bar and meet travellers from all over — that old-school Koh Mak vibe you don't find much anymore."
What makes Monkey Island stick in the memory is its restaurant and live-music bar · Many guests rate the kitchen here as one of the best on the island — the owner once ran Thai restaurants in Bangkok, prices are a touch higher than the shacks outside but the food earns it · The bar, meanwhile, is Koh Mak's main late-night hangout, with live music both Western and Thai most nights in high season — pretty much the only place on the island still buzzing after 9pm · If that's your kind of evening, you'll love it here.
Honestly, from the reviews: the thing to accept is that music from the bar carries to the bungalows on band nights, especially the huts nearest the bar — if you sleep early or want quiet, ask for the hut furthest from the bar, or pick somewhere else entirely · The resort is also not directly on the beach; it's about a 6-minute walk to Ao Kao · The pool is a small one for cooling off rather than real swimming · And the cheapest rooms are cold-water and fan-only, so if you expect resort-level comfort this may not be the place.
What guests consistently praise is the friendly, easygoing feel and the lush, pretty garden · It's the kind of place people either love or it's just not their thing — if you're a backpacker or independent traveller who wants to meet people, hear music and eat well on a light budget, it delivers all of that in one spot · But for a quiet honeymoon, or with small kids who need an early night, the location near the bar won't suit · It fits travellers who understand they're paying for atmosphere and location, not luxury.
Bottom line, from real guest reviews: Monkey Island Resort is the budget option with the most character on Koh Mak · From around ฿700/night for a fan room in the normal season, climbing in high season and to about ฿3,000 for the air-con family hut · Rated around 8.4 from real reviews · If you can live with evening music and simple bungalow rooms, it gives you atmosphere, good food and a price that works on Koh Mak.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Budget-friendly and good value for Koh Mak
- ✓ Easygoing vibe, lush garden, easy to meet fellow travellers
- ✓ Well-regarded kitchen, among the best food on the island
- ✓ Fun live-music bar — the island's main late-night hangout
- ! Music from the bar carries to the bungalows on band nights
- ! Cheapest rooms are fan-only and cold-water, backpacker-simple
- ! Not directly on the beach — about a 6-minute walk to Ao Kao
- ✓ Real character — bungalows named after monkeys, fun murals
- ✓ Handy location near Ao Kao Beach and the mid-beach eateries
- ✓ Friendly staff, easy to arrange boat tours and rentals
- ✓ A hammock on every porch — relaxed lounging in the garden
- ! Some huts show their age; fans and fittings feel well-used
- ! Small pool, more for cooling off than real swimming
- ! Very quiet in low season — some island services close
- 💡If you want quiet and an early night — the bar has live music most nights in high season → ask for a bungalow as far from the bar as possible, or choose a quieter resort on another part of the island.
- 💡If you need A/C and hot water to sleep — the cheapest rooms are fan-only and cold-water → book a private air-conditioned hut and confirm hot water with the resort when reserving.
- 💡If you're going in low season (Jun–mid-Oct) — many places on Koh Mak close and the sea can be rough on some days → check with the resort that it's open and that boats are running before booking.